Chess Crisis?

I WAS hoping to play for Battersea tonight in division one of the London League - but our opponents, Kings Head, have cried off.
Their captain was apparently unable to find 10 players willing to turn out on a Wednesday evening.
I am not one of those doomsayers who reckon the future of chess is bleak.
I think chess is doing very well when you consider how many other distractions there are these days (Man Utd having a big Champions League game tonight, for example).
But when a club as famous as Kings Head cannot raise a team ...